News of: Wednesday, 10th of October, 2007

Front Page

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday disclosed a plan for holding the parliamentary elections before October next year by preparing the voter list with photographs within July, three months earlier than the deadline.

The government yesterday asked garment factory owners again to pay the wages and Eid bonuses to their workers by tomorrow to avert any uncalled for incident before the Eid-ul-Fitr, but the owners said it will be 'very tough' for many of them to comply with the government request.

The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday pressed charges against detained former BNP lawmaker Mosaddak Ali Falu and one of his associates in a case filed in connection with misuse of government relief materials.

Giving an indication that loans worth $365 million might be available for the post flood rehabilitation programme, representatives of different donor agencies yesterday proposed formation of a permanent fund with government and donor contributions to face natural disasters.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has issued notices to all deputy commissioners (DC), land registration offices and 41 banks, asking them to report if detained former premier and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina and her family members own any moveable or immovable wealth.

Bangladesh will revive efforts for greater access of manufactured goods from least developed countries (LDCs) to big markets as the new chair of the coordination council of LDCs as part of its push for a bigger role in UN-based organisations.

The Divisional Special Judge's Court here yesterday issued arrest warrants against former Jamaat lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury and ex-foreign minister Morshed Khan's son Faisal Morshed Khan for not appearing before it in a corruption case.

A route map to tackle terrorism and crimes in Saarc countries has been urged by India -- suggesting a greater cooperation among police forces of the nations and exchange of their human and material resources.

The Sylhet divisional speedy trial tribunal yesterday sentenced two Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) activists to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for their involvement in a series of blasts that rocked Sunamganj in August 2005.

Editorial

This is the most auspicious night for Muslims all over the world. It is more blessed than a thousand months. For the Muslims it is a special dispensation from Allah, for Allah has said that a night's meditation at this occasion is equal to that of thousand nights. For this is the night when Allah revealed the Holy Quran, through the last Prophet Muhammad (SM), not just for the Muslims to seek guidance from but for the entire mankind to be guided by. The Holy Quran, along with the last Prophet of Allah, has come as a redeemer to the Muslims in particular. And it is for the Muslims to internalise and understand the essence of the teaching of the Quran, for salvation not only of the soul in the hereafter, but also of the body in this world.

The 82 Bangladeshi workers who were forced to return to Dhaka from Dubai airport on the ground that they had fake visas on them can now actually go back to Dubai. The immigration authorities in Dubai, as we understand, have now acknowledged that the visas were genuine and that there was a 'communication gap' that compelled the workers to go back to Dhaka. That is all very well, but even so the explanation given out by the Dubai authorities about a communication gap being there does not hold much water. The workers, once they landed in Dubai, were told in no uncertain terms that they had to go back to Dhaka as their visas were not in order. No explanations were offered and even attempts by the Biman authorities, who were responsible for taking the workers to Dubai, to explain matters were rudely brushed aside.

All this excitement about a truth commission raises some very significant truths that we need to handle. As Law Adviser Mainul Hosein informs us, and every now and then, it is the state of the economy, which will be a determinant in the formation and operation of the truth commission.

Over the past two decades Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have taken center stage all over the world in matters pertaining to good governance, functioning of democracy, and upholding of human rights and fundamental freedoms. They have also been at the forefront in the fight against corruption, political partisanship and abuse of familial connections.

The Supreme Court shelved a recent High Court order on October 4 for granting bail to BNP's Khaleda Zia in one of her graft cases. Obviously, that didn't sit well with her cronies. But had she been released on bail, these cronies would have championed her as the "born again" leader of the party.

Sports

Nearly a hundred media men survived a close call on Monday as the roof of the press box at the Bangabandhu National Stadium came off a few hours after the 2010 World Cup pre-qualifier between Bangladesh and Tajikistan.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has extended the national players' current contract by two months with a plan to review the payment structure after watching their performance in the National Cricket League.

Muttiah Muralidaran has been ruled out of the fourth one-day international against England, according to his manager, after failing to recover from his bicep injury. But despite talk that he will miss the whole series Muralidaran retains hope of appearing in the final match in Colombo.

A sigh of relief rose from the stands in the Sector 16 Stadium once Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss on Monday morning. Finally India could bat first and try and put Australia on the difficult end of a 300-plus run-chase. An hour later, though, those hopes were fading as Brett Lee and his fellow fast bowlers put on a spell that made Sachin Tendulkar look thoroughly inept at the crease and the scoring rate resemble the first hour of a Test match.

Several Spanish clubs have complained over non-payment of fees for television broadcasts of matches, the result of a cutthroat battle between two media groups for control of the market, a Spanish business daily reported Tuesday.

As England prepare for their crucial Euro 2008 qualifying match on a plastic pitch in Russia a week tomorrow, Michael Owen admitted that playing on hard surfaces has contributed to his recent injury problems.

Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones has been stripped of her gold medals from the 2000 Olympics and asked repay more than 100,000 dollars in prize and bonus money, the United States Olympic Committee said Monday.

Darrell Hair on Tuesday dropped his claim for racial discrimination against the International Cricket Council (ICC) in a deal that could allow the Australian to resume his career as a Test match umpire next year.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken exception to selection committee chairman Dilip Vengsarkar and Indian team manager Lalchand Rajput's statements to media over senior players' performance.

Business

The central bank yesterday tightened rules for exchange houses abroad having 'drawing arrangements' with local banks to ensure the safety of remittances sent by non-resident Bangladeshis and avert any future remittance scam like the one committed by the UK-based Fast Solution Company.

The European Commission said Monday, for the first time, that it would be ready to lower the bar in trade talks with the 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific rim countries making up the so-called ACP group.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Arab countries have been "underserved" by the development lender and that he wants to develop an initiative to get more involved in the Arab world, according to an interview published in the Wall Street Journal Tuesday.

Floods have damaged crops on over 8.5 lakh hectares of lands, 8870 primary schools and about 12,000-kilometre roads across the country this year, according to official statistics presented at a workshop yesterday.

The 110 megawatt power plant of Goalpara Power Station (GPS) again went out of order at 9:20am on Monday for the 11th time in last eight months due to major technical faults. The power plant is yet to go into production to meet severe power outage in the district under the West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDCL).

The vacation bench of the High Court yesterday granted ad interim bail to Mahmudur Rahman, energy adviser to former prime minister Khaleda Zia, as he surrendered before it apprehending arrest in connection with a corruption case.

Speakers at a press conference yesterday urged the government to reconsider its decision to buy 150 brand new Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) at the cost of Tk 40 crore for the Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) since the move would not be cost effective.

The Citi Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Citigroup, has made further grant to deliver a series of financial education workshops and one-to-one sessions to up skill British-Bangladeshi young people and women within Tower Hamlets to better achieve their financial goals, says a press release.

The residents of four villages in Madhupur upazila in the district will have to plant 50,000 saplings on 200 acres of forestlands at their own cost within 15 days as penalty for uprooting about the same number of newly planted forest-tree saplings.

A court in Barisal on yesterday acquitted five of the six accused in sensational murder case of child Tamim while the judgment about one accused was not declared as the High Court had stayed his trial.

Letters

Acid throwing is a vicious form of violence against women (VAW). Although, we know that VAW is a universal phenomenon, what many of us may not know is the extent and form the violence takes. Acid throwing is a particularly vicious and damaging form of VAW in Bangladesh. There are cases of acid throwing in other countries but these are isolated incidents, nowhere near the number of attacks that occur in Bangladesh. The victims are attacked for many reasons. In some cases, the attack takes place because a young girl or women has spurned the sexual advances of a male or has rejected a proposal of marriage. Recently, however there have been acid attacks on children, older women and sometimes also men. These attacks are often the result of family or land disputes, dowry demands or a desire for revenge. The major victims are women(47%), men(26%) and children(27%). When acid is thrown on a person the results are horrifying. It causes the skin tissue to melt, often exposing the bones below the flesh, sometimes even dissolving the bone. Many acid attack survivors have lost one or both eyes.

Inzamam-ul-Haq's decision to retire after the Lahore Test against South Africa means that world cricket will be bidding farewell to one of the greatest batsmen to have walked onto the cricket field. He has had an amazing career filled with numerous memorable innings, and he is on his way to crossing Miandad as the highest run-getter for Pakistan.

The alarming shortfall of power is making the economy stagnant and also acting as a deterrent to industrial growth in the country, especially in rural areas. The question of setting up backward linkage industries and expansion of poultry, fisheries and other livestock farming are at big challenge.

In limiting their response to toothless sanctions and a strong disapproval of Myanmar's military dictatorship, our world leaders condemn to death not only the country's bloodied, unarmed monks and civilians, but also the fragile hopes of oppressed peoples everywhere, who will quickly learn that the world leaders cannot be counted on to back up their pre-democracy rhetoric with action.

The dictionary describes 'simmering' as bringing slowly to a boil. When this is coupled with 'discontent' the authorities should beware. We have already had a couple of manifestations of 'simmering discontent' in recent days that caused immense damage to national property and prestige. I am giving 4 more flash-points simmering fast.

The PCP article by Chris Austin (3 Oct) is wonderful and it fills me with elation that others in the world do care about the common people of Bangladesh. The learning of English and its secrets as exposed by him and the other practical proposals of help will no doubt advance this most worthwhile objective for the betterment of Bangladesh and its technical manpower, as it has done for China and other countries in the region.

In this letter I would like to make a comment on the above report by drawing information from the news published in your paper on Sunday, October 2, 2007 under the heading “TIB says its study not applicable to all NGOs”. In particular, I will keep my comments within the limit of the methodology used to collect information.

On 6 October you wrote in support of Bangladesh's efforts to secure senior level positions in the UN by virtue of, among other things, Bangladesh's contribution to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations throughout the world. Without question, Bangladesh's contribution of troops has proven useful to the UN. Like Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Kenya, all major troops contributing countries, Bangladeshi troops cost much less than troops from North America and the European Union.

I fully support Dr. Abdus Sattar Syed's opinion on this issue (Letters to the Editor page, June 19, The Daily Star) that the advance income tax of Tk.1000 proposed on every fresh issuance or renewal of a trade licence should be withdrawn. I would like to go even further to propose that the requirement of trade licence be waived for very small starting enterprises (a suggested limit: fixed investment under Tk.1.5 lakh). Unfortunately, we inherited a legacy of a top-down authoritarian rule of the colonial past which has not changed a little even after adoption of democracy. Field officials of the government have the authority to harass the general public if their corrupt demands are not met.

Just within a week of Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed's meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Mr. Abdullah Bin Ahmad Badawi in New York where, as reported in our media, the Malaysian PM assured our Chief Adviser of all possible help to assist Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, comes the bad news of ban on our workers in that county.

It is an undeniable fact that some very remarkable accomplishments have been made by some NGOs in healthcare and education and expanding opportunities to the disadvantaged children of Bangladesh. Yet, no doubt, the TIB findings on corrupt practices of NGOs are well founded.

Mr. Islam's report in your daily (Oct:3) on abnormal quantities of ammonia gas exhausts from Zia Fertiliser Co. Ltd. , polluting the environment around ZFCL factory, is deplorable news. What are the authorities doing about containing it? The surrounding cropland of about 200 acres is losing fertility due to excessive alkalinity. Fishes in ponds within this area are also reported to be dying unnaturally! People in the locality are suffering from skin diseases and respiratory problems. However, strangely, nothing was mentioned about the employees of the factory and their families who live in the factory location!

The politicians have again started to beat about the bush. Though the main problem of Bangladesh is now corruption, some politicians are saying undemocratic things. Whatever is good for this world is permissible in Islam, then why do you question Islam's complete code of life? I think some people's hard line against Islam ignites Jihad among some fervent Muslims, which is creating dire situations in many countries.

In Plato's Republic, the place of the business people was earmarked outside the city. May be their loyalty and patriotism were suspect. Modern day multinationals are, however, quite unabashed and unconcerned about it.

We were encouraged when the Malaysian Prime Minister assured the Chief Adviser in NY that all problems pertaining to the BD workers in that country would be solved, but now we hear that Malaysia has imposed a blanket ban on BD workers!! What is this? Why around 300,000 would be workers had to be put in this situation? It seems that the present administration is more interested in pushing those hapless workers to different countries than engaging in wise and effective negotiations. We suggest the government immediately send officials to other manpower exporting countries, like the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Egypt....to learn as to how to ensure proper safeguards for our workers.

International

Myanmar's ruling junta said yesterday it hoped to achieve "smooth relations" with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a day after suggesting that her release from house arrest was unlikely to happen anytime soon.

The crucial meeting of the UPA-Left committee on the Indo-US nuclear deal was held in the capital on Tuesday, amid strong and divergent views expressed by both sides on the issue that further fuelled speculation about mid-term polls.

Arts & Entertainment

With Eid-ul-Fitr just around the corner everyone is gearing up for the festivities. After a month of devotion and fasting Eid gives people an excuse to do something special for themselves and their families. As the month of Ramadan nears its end, people are busy making last minute preparations. Celebrities are also getting ready for the grand celebration.

Dr. Fahmida Khatun's debut album is all set to be released. The album, Jokhon Prothom Dhoreche Koli, an Impress Audio Vision Ltd presentation, featuring Rabindra Sangeet, was recorded in Dhaka, although some production work was done in Kolkata.

OP-ED

It was on the auspicious Lailat-ul-Qadr, the Night of Power or the Night of Honour or Majesty that the Holy Quran, the most blessed and perfect of all revelations, was vouchsafed to the benighted world. By revelation, of course, is meant first revelation because the Holy Quran was revealed in portions during a total period of twenty-three years.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote Raktokarobi in 1923 in Shillong. The Official Secrets Act, that barred government officials from giving out information to people, was passed in India in 1923, and still exists in Bangladesh as a colonial inheritance. Why invoke the name of Tagore in this context? Is the year 1923 a mere coincidence?

I am very happy to learn that the government is going to give the responsibility of tax policy formulation to a body separate from NBR. In fact, due to my regular communication with NBR since 1998 pleading for correcting tax inversions existing between the import of finished products and raw materials of electronic items, this very aspect appeared very strongly to me and I have been arguing for the separation of tax policy formulating body from NBR for quite some time.

Star City

The table is full of traditional Eid delicacies with the air filled with aroma of spices. Guests arrive one by one after attending the Eid congregation. They embrace each other, exchange greetings and start savouring the delectable treats.

For the first time after its inception Dhaka University is going to open a resource centre for its visually impaired students. The centre will be opened at the DU Central Library soon after the university opens end of this month.

A cock with a crash on its head, a peacock, a flower plant with two buds and diamond patterns -- all sound quite common as elements. But only a few have the eyes to see through the mundane aspects of these objects and create eye-catching articles based on them.

The sale of deer at Dhaka Zoo has plummeted from 70 deer last year to only three this year due to the introduction of pricey possession certificates and renewal fees imposed by the Department of Forest, said zoo officials.

Star Chittagong

With barely a week to go, Eid shopping gains momentum in the port city with all the shopping malls, arcades and markets as well as the makeshift shops on footpaths in the city being bustling from morning till night.

Proper management by the authorities concerned and strict monitoring by the law enforcement agencies have lessened the hassle of the homebound people remarkably in getting advance tickets of railway ahead of Eid in the port city this year.